HHN 25 Discussion

[Legacy]

aka, horror lunatic. 

Nope. Just a dreamer. You'd be surprised how little horror I surround myself with. This forum is basically it, and if you look, I rarely venture outside this board.

The issue, specifically, is this year itself. Nothing is original. Even the new IPs are things we have seen before. Scream is a suburban slasher just like Halloween. Insidious is a haunted house just like Wyandott and Dead End. We've basically seen Alice in Wonderland in the previous Scary Tales. We've seen the Body Collectors, and we've been to Shadybrook three times. Run should be somewhat different, but it's been 14 years so the differences may be limited. Hopefully the anniversary house is what I think it will be, because that would be only left-field, "Only Universal can do this" idea in the bunch. But that's if it's what I think is coming.

This isn't a case of the Nightingales being in a different century's war, or the Plague Doctors in a French city or a museum, or the Dogs of War being in a trainwreck. This isn't celebrating one-off favorites from yesteryear like Hellgate or Ghost Town or Frightanic. This is easy, predictable shot-calling. Logically, I understand how fantastic this is for the people who started coming because of TWD. But for people who have followed the event for over a decade it should feel disappointing, if not a bit insulting.

If being passionate about creativity makes me a lunatic, then fine. But don't presume this is the best Universal could offer this year. People will love this year. This year won't be bad. But it could be better, and no one should be satisfied with that.

[Marco-S]

Nope. Just a dreamer. You'd be surprised how little horror I surround myself with. This forum is basically it, and if you look, I rarely venture outside this board.

The issue, specifically, is this year itself. Nothing is original. Even the new IPs are things we have seen before. Scream is a suburban slasher just like Halloween. Insidious is a haunted house just like Wyandott and Dead End. We've basically seen Alice in Wonderland in the previous Scary Tales. We've seen the Body Collectors, and we've been to Shadybrook three times. Run should be somewhat different, but it's been 14 years so the differences may be limited. Hopefully the anniversary house is what I think it will be, because that would be only left-field, "Only Universal can do this" idea in the bunch. But that's if it's what I think is coming.

This isn't a case of the Nightingales being in a different century's war, or the Plague Doctors in a French city or a museum, or the Dogs of War being in a trainwreck. This isn't celebrating one-off favorites from yesteryear like Hellgate or Ghost Town or Frightanic. This is easy, predictable shot-calling. Logically, I understand how fantastic this is for the people who started coming because of TWD. But for people who have followed the event for over a decade it should feel disappointing, if not a bit insulting.

If being passionate about creativity makes me a lunatic, then fine. But don't presume this is the best Universal could offer this year. People will love this year. This year won't be bad. But it could be better, and no one should be satisfied with that.

sorry, better word would have been fanatic. 

Make some great points though.

[mystiquephreeq]

UO Creative has nothing to do with the event..

Heather, Im going to look on the 2007 website and see about the location

I have a flash app on my phone, but it's not the greatest. 

The key key in the box was the item for Shadybrook, right?

Seneca Falls, NY

[Mrevio]

Art and Design/Show Devlopment AND Universal Creative two different depts.. Yes they work along side one other sometimes but UO Creative doesnt have a say with HHN

What exactly does each department do? What makes them unique from each other?

[venomfwa]

I really need to stop looking at the Orlando HHN Twitter feed. If I have to see that Insidious picture posted AGAIN I'm going to go crazy.

[Bobby Singer]

Does anyone know where the holding areas will be? And this is my first post.

[criticalanalysis]

Nope. Just a dreamer. You'd be surprised how little horror I surround myself with. This forum is basically it, and if you look, I rarely venture outside this board.

The issue, specifically, is this year itself. Nothing is original. Even the new IPs are things we have seen before. Scream is a suburban slasher just like Halloween. Insidious is a haunted house just like Wyandott and Dead End. We've basically seen Alice in Wonderland in the previous Scary Tales. We've seen the Body Collectors, and we've been to Shadybrook three times. Run should be somewhat different, but it's been 14 years so the differences may be limited. Hopefully the anniversary house is what I think it will be, because that would be only left-field, "Only Universal can do this" idea in the bunch. But that's if it's what I think is coming.

This isn't a case of the Nightingales being in a different century's war, or the Plague Doctors in a French city or a museum, or the Dogs of War being in a trainwreck. This isn't celebrating one-off favorites from yesteryear like Hellgate or Ghost Town or Frightanic. This is easy, predictable shot-calling. Logically, I understand how fantastic this is for the people who started coming because of TWD. But for people who have followed the event for over a decade it should feel disappointing, if not a bit insulting.

If being passionate about creativity makes me a lunatic, then fine. But don't presume this is the best Universal could offer this year. People will love this year. This year won't be bad. But it could be better, and no one should be satisfied with that.

100% agree.

[mmc]

I really need to stop looking at the Orlando HHN Twitter feed. If I have to see that Insidious picture posted AGAIN I'm going to go crazy.

You are not the only one, it is sending me totally loopy, especially when the picture doesn't load up straight away on my phone and I get super excited because I think we have had an announcement!

[venomfwa]

You are not the only one, it is sending me totally loopy, especially when the picture doesn't load up straight away on my phone and I get super excited because I think we have had an announcement!

I'm pretty much starting to think that we're just going to get all the announcements in the last week of August at this point.

[Dr. Jimmy]

Yes Shadybrook was near the town of Seneca Falls in New York. Mary Agana's office was also likely in the same area - thus an NYC investigator, Boris Shuster was involved in the case. Mary was originally from Carey, Ohio but her practice was in New York.

I have theorized that the asylum Mary was involved with in her own patient cases was indeed Shadybrook, which explains the "cameo appearance" of Dr. Agana in the Echoes of Shadybrook house in 2010.

As for the Body Collectors, I had always assumed they were natives of Terra Cruentas. But there must be ways of crossing over from that realm into our own. They were able to cross over in 1888 in London. But the children of the Skool somehow crossed over (in spirit or body?) in the early 20th Century in Carey, Ohio. I would not be surprised if there isn't a very easy passage from Carey to Cruentas. Mary was from there and had some heritage from those very Skoolchildren. And the Collectors' campaign in London was somehow a part of "Mary's World". There are all sorts of connections here, like roots or branches spreading out through time and space.

Unfortunately, a lot of nifty back story stuff like all this that we fanatical types, the HU, LT, types who trace our own damn Legion bloodlines, is not likely to be developed much further unless things change in corporate policy about HHN. I believe there was a lot more to the whole "What Evil Has Taken Root" concept two years ago that was jettisoned in favor of more TWD. A whole forest of interesting back story stuff. They seem to still do a bit of that, but nowhere near what they had before or would like to. But with the 25th anniversary and a bit of bringing back old characters stuff it is possible there still might be little more filling in connections in these narratives. Mike has mentioned discovering new connections between seemingly unrelated events and also presenting people from Jack's history we have never realized before.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Dr. Jimmy

[Marco-S]

. Mike has mentioned discovering new connections between seemingly unrelated events and also presenting people from Jack's history we have never realized before.

RUN --> Eddie --> Eddie Schmidt --> Jacks Brother --> Jack's Back possible connection? 

[ScottEdmondson41]

Does anyone know where the holding areas will be? And this is my first post.

in the New York area  next to Finnegan's and in the Kid Zone area too. 

[Averixx De Avalon]

Announcements are soooo slooooow. >.< I'm ready for the next one. For me, everyone I know is going like this:

 

Announcement

WOOO

Dead for two weeks+, asks me for every little detail.

Announcement 

WOOOO

Dead for more time, asks me for every little detail.

 

Half of them are so bored they are contemplating not going. >.<

[Legacy]

Mike has mentioned discovering new connections between seemingly unrelated events and also presenting people from Jack's history we have never realized before.

Sounds like a classic crossover idea.

[criticalanalysis]

Anyone know why marketing is doing such a piss poor job after the initial hype?

[Pandry]

Because the marketing team in general is....piss poor?

[Legacy]

Anyone know why marketing is doing such a piss poor job after the initial hype?

The story this year is that Marketing was eaten by zombies. That's why they aren't marketing. They're dead.

[Averixx De Avalon]

Maybe they were purged last year...

[Oysterhead00]

Anyone know why marketing is doing such a piss poor job after the initial hype?

Marketing's job is to "put butts in seats".  Say what you will about them not giving you what you want, but they are growing the event.  The lines this year will be longer than last year...and we'll all bitch about it...yet book a trip again next year.  That'$ all that really matter$ for them.  Not in a negative way either.  In a business sense if they can do their surveys and see that 80% are returning customers and 20% are new, then their audience retention rate is quite good and they're appealing to new people as well.  The casual people want The Walking Dead and so we're going to get it for a while.  For marketing, that's a home run.  People are getting bonuses based on just that.  An added benefit is the impulse buyer who just wants to go see TWD on a whim is probably paying close to $100 just to get through the door and not looking at the various options and stuff on here, they're just in Florida already (living there or visiting, doesn't matter) and are walk up customers who don't buy Rush of Fear tickets, don't go to Publix for their discounts, etc.  Even better if the lines are so long they only get to do 4 houses and pony up another $100 to do the other 5 another night.  For the hell of it, a horrible math example:  That person is paying $20 per house.  I'm getting the Rush of Fear + Express for a total of $220 and I will do every house at least 4 times (once a night when I'm there).  The Return On Investment surely has something to do with the budgets they get every year so these "suckers" benefit us "fanatics" by putting money in the coffers and not making lines too much longer (other than the day or two they're there) and that might lead to A&D getting a little bump in their budget.  Trickle down economics - ha ha ha.

From a purely business stand point, it makes sense.  Also, as far as announcements, it's not the marketing department's fault that "people in the know" spoiled it for you months in advance because you were actively seeking out all the details.  They're rolling out their updates in the way their metrics show boost sales after the last announcement "bump" has subsided.   Marketing 101.  Confirming what you already know about an event that you're already committed to going to isn't high on their priority list.  You're literally money in the bank.

[Marco-S]

Marketing's job is to "put butts in seats".  Say what you will about them not giving you what you want, but they are growing the event.  The lines this year will be longer than last year...and we'll all bitch about it...yet book a trip again next year.  That'$ all that really matter$ for them.  Not in a negative way either.  In a business sense if they can do their surveys and see that 80% are returning customers and 20% are new, then their audience retention rate is quite good and they're appealing to new people as well.  The casual people want The Walking Dead and so we're going to get it for a while.  For marketing, that's a home run.  People are getting bonuses based on just that.  An added benefit is the impulse buyer who just wants to go see TWD on a whim is probably paying close to $100 just to get through the door and not looking at the various options and stuff on here, they're just in Florida already (living there or visiting, doesn't matter) and are walk up customers who don't buy Rush of Fear tickets, don't go to Publix for their discounts, etc.  Even better if the lines are so long they only get to do 4 houses and pony up another $100 to do the other 5 another night.  For the hell of it, a horrible math example:  That person is paying $20 per house.  I'm getting the Rush of Fear + Express for a total of $220 and I will do every house at least 4 times (once a night when I'm there).  The Return On Investment surely has something to do with the budgets they get every year so these "suckers" benefit us "fanatics" by putting money in the coffers and not making lines too much longer (other than the day or two they're there) and that might lead to A&D getting a little bump in their budget.  Trickle down economics - ha ha ha.

From a purely business stand point, it makes sense.  Also, as far as announcements, it's not the marketing department's fault that "people in the know" spoiled it for you months in advance because you were actively seeking out all the details.  They're rolling out their updates in the way their metrics show boost sales after the last announcement "bump" has subsided.   Marketing 101.  Confirming what you already know about an event that you're already committed to going to isn't high on their priority list.  You're literally money in the bank.

well props to you sir/ma'am. Couldnt have said it any better or nearly as good myself. The unfortunate truth.

[Bobby Singer]

in the New York area  next to Finnegan's and in the Kid Zone area too. 

What is the New York area and no Springfield ?

[biomegaceu]

What is the New York area and no Springfield ?

The holding Area in New York is basically the street between the entrance to transformers and the mummy. Right by the entrance to Finnegans.

 

[MissBA]

From my view you don't want to announce too early, but not too late either. At least get the ball rolling by the beginning of August in a few days. I'm a planner. If I'm planning to go to HHN I'm going to go in the early days not during busy October. I'm then going to look at the list now and all that's confirmed are a few things. With so little I might decide to just skip it with such little information available to really decide if I want to budget for the event or not or go to a different one elsewhere. Waiting to announce things at the last minute really just relies on internal, local, and already here people who can easily pop in at the drop of a hat.

 

But I've got no major in marketing. 

[Legacy]

What exactly does each department do? What makes them unique from each other?

I was waiting for someone else to answer this, but I can give you an extremely basic primer.

Creative - Designs and manages the building of attractions or features that are meant to be permanent. Some are less permanent than others, but longevity is the key.

Art and Design - Designs, manages, and builds temporary events, to include shows. That's a bit crude. Lots of what A&D does can essentially become permanent (I'm looking specifically at Beetlejuice, Sinbad and Monster Make-Up), but nearly all shows have a shelf life. 

Entertainment - The cross-over. While nearly all of A&Ds stuff requires performers in some capacity, only some permanent attractions (T2:3D, Poseidon) require live actors. Regardless, the all come from the pull that is Entertainment.

[JackTheREAPER]

There better be an announcement this week...